House of the Rising Sun
by Cullen-Black
Summary: Her visions have led her to her happiness and brought her answers countless times before; So when Alice receives her vision of the future she knows no matter what she'll do everything in her power to make it come true. A story of love, loss, and family.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_***_

"_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine _

_You make me happy when skies are gray _

_You'll never know dear, how much I love you _

_Please don't take my sunshine away." _

— Johnny Cash

"_Mommy?" There was the soft patter of small feet against the hardwood before a petite child rounded the corner. Her curly ebony hair frizzed from a night of fitful sleep. Small bags were forming under her hazel eyes as she shuffled her way over to me. I opened my arms and she climbed into them, nestling against me. "I had another nightmare," she whispered._

"_Was it the same one?" I felt her nod against me._

"_I called the fire back this time, but I was so scared." She was shaking as she spoke, and I pulled her closer to me, stroking her back and telling her that it would be okay — that it was all okay. Just like I did every night that she came down. Every night I was the one to comfort her. _

"_Do you want me to call Daddy?" She nodded again, and I called out to my husband in whisper, knowing that he would have heard me despite being at the opposite end of the house. He was beside us in a second, a sad smile playing across his lips as he bent down and scooped our daughter out of my arms. Her own arms wrapped around his neck, and he spoke gently to her, telling her all the words he knew she needed to hear. _

"_It's going to be okay, sunshine." A gulf of fire overtook my vision._

"Alice? Alice!" Jasper shook my shoulder and I looked over at him in a daze. "Are you okay?"

"It was the vision. I had it again." He tensed up beside me, but managed to send a wave of calm in my direction. It was a feeling that I appreciated more than I could ever vocalize. "She seems so real," I whispered. The hint of yearning was deep enough that I could not deny it myself.

"Darling . . . you know — "

"I know we can't have children. I know that, Jasper. I also know that she has your eyes, your _human_ eyes. I can feel your presence radiating off of her in every vision." Jasper ran a wary hand through his hair, contemplating what I was telling him. It had been the fifth time I'd had the vision in two weeks, and the more I saw her, the more I grew connected to her. I knew she wasn't physically mine. I was a vampire. There was no possible way for me to be impregnated but she was a part of me and she was definitely a part of Jasper.

"You never see how we find her?" I shook my head. "Ally, honey, have you ever thought that maybe you're finally craving the same thing that Rosalie has spent her entire existence yearning for?"

"I don't want _children_! I just want her! We are suppose to have her; I just don't know where or when yet. But we will." His eyes told me exactly how much he wanted to please me, but he didn't want to give me false hope. The battle continued within him for a few more moments before I felt his hands in mine.

"Tell me about her," he asked, and I smiled.

"She has the most beautiful smile," I began, as a brief image of her flashed through my mind and warmth filled me. "All I know of her is what I see. I've seen how well we all fit together as a family. Somehow she adds something to us that we've never known we needed. I know Rosalie has always wanted children, but that's not it. She's more than just a child to me. She's hope, she's love, and she's us."

"How do I . . ." He didn't continue, and he didn't need to. I already knew what it was he was going to ask. How was he going to deal with having a human as a daughter? I didn't have an answer to that question, but I knew that he seemed to manage fine in all the visions. Since his accident with Bella, he had been making an added effort to manage his thirst, and he was doing very well. His expression could often even drift away from his usual constant tension when he was around humans.

"I never see you hurting her," I responded truthfully.

"But that doesn't mean that I won't. Alice, you obviously love this little girl already; don't you think that you should think about her safety before you get lost in the thought of having her? I would never deliberately . . . but sometimes I'm not strong enough."

It was the first time that anything of the sort had come to my attention. She was human. My husband had fed on her kind for nearly two centuries, and my entire family lusted after the blood that ran through her veins. But we'd handled Bella, had we not? Yes, she did have that accident, but it was an accident based on clumsiness, and I doubt that another human being could achieve that level of clumsiness unless they purposefully tried. Jasper would also just have to feed more often, and we could . . . I was making excuses.

Some part of me realized that Jasper was right, but the other part of my mind refused to believe it. It was my job as his wife to believe in him and I did. It was my job as a clairvoyant to embrace my visions. It was my job to get my family together, and the moment I had that vision, she had become my family. I straddled Jasper's lap and stared into his eyes.

The valiant effort he put into achieving the same willpower he thought we all had still amazed me. None of us had spent so long feeding on human blood; none of us had nearly as chaotic a background as Jasper. Yet he curbed his appetite so well over the years, and he made me so extremely proud.

"I trust you. I know you. You will be strong enough, and until then, we have nothing but time."

*******

"Are you ready for bed?" Momma asked as she plopped down next to me and stared up at the ceiling. She had painted a mural of the sky there for me; the clouds looked fluffy enough to touch, and the sun shone as if it were an actual ball of fire. It was our nightly ritual to spend the last few minutes before bed staring at it, both of us lost in our own worlds.

"Why don't I have a Daddy?"

She took a deep breath and let the words linger in the air for a bit before answering. "You do have a Daddy."

"How come I never see him?" I turned to face her and noticed that her eyes were closed as she spoke.

"Do you want to see him?"

"Yes."

She got up off the bed and left the room. I could hear her walking into her bedroom, which was next door to mine, and then silence. A few minutes later she came back with a small box in her hand. I watched as she took her place on my bed again but sat up this time.

"Before your Daddy left he gave me this. He told me . . . he wanted . . ." Tears filled her eyes, and she wiped at them furiously, trying to compose herself in the process. "Open it."

I took the package out of my mother's hands and opened it slowly, carefully pulling the tape and wrapping paper away until I was left with only a small black box. My fingers trembled as I opened it and saw the silver locket lying delicately within it. A single pearl decorated the front of it, with a decorative patterned engraved along the pearl's edge. The metal was cool and smooth against my fingertips. It was easily the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.

I opened the locket tentatively, waiting for whatever secrets it was sure to unfold. His eyes were the first thing that I noticed. A clear hazel green, glimmering with glee as he held onto a younger woman I recognized as my mother. They were grinning in the picture, and I absently realized I had never seen my mother smile like that before.

"Where did he go?"

"There's a war going on, and he's fighting in it." That was all she could say before her lips began to tremble and she cleared her throat. A look of pure determination came over her face as she took my face between her hands. "He went away, but he never left us. He lives in here." Her hand pressed above my heart, and she took my hand and placed it above her own. "When you love someone, that is where they live, no matter how far away they actually are." I nodded my head, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I now knew at least something about my father.

She didn't say anything else, and I didn't ask for more. She slipped the locket around my neck, and I curled against her, falling asleep in my mother's arms while my mind wandered off to faraway places, imagining the father I hoped one day I would meet.

***

"Nahla, baby, you've got to get up." My mother shook me awake, already pulling me out of the bed before my eyes could fully focus. My protest was stopped by the terrified expression on her face as she pulled me into the closet. "Stay here," she ordered, kissing me briskly on the forehead before closing the door and enclosing me in darkness. Everything was silent as I waited quietly, obeying my mother.

"You." My mother's voice was thick with loathing as she spat out the word. The other person chuckled harshly in response.

"I think I've been very understanding of your situation for quite some time, and this is how you greet me?" I heard nothing until the sound of a body falling to the ground filled my ears and I creaked open the door to see what was happening. The image of my mother lying on the ground pushed me into action, and I ran towards her. I was not sure what I had to do to help but her eyes fluttered open and she shook her head.

"Oh you must be the daughter!" The other woman in the room exclaimed, her startling red eyes full of glee. I'd never seen a person with her features before. She was deviously beautiful, and although I knew she had just hurt my mother and would most likely kill us both, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by her allure. Her eyes were fixated on me, and I fidgeted under her gaze. "Did you tell her to hide from me, Ave?" My mother's eyes brimmed with tears, but her mouth turned into a sneer as she pulled herself up with added effort and walked towards me, her hand extended. I took it, partially hiding myself behind her.

"You will leave us alone."

"And just how exactly will you make me do that?"

"Does he know you're here?" the woman sneered, taking an angry step towards us. "No matter how loyal he may be to you, he will never allow you to do this."

"Why don't we test that theory?" The signal. My mother had given me the signal and the reaction to it was involuntary; I felt the power surge through me before finally expelling itself and consuming the bedroom. The following seconds were a blur as the woman leapt towards my mother, wrenching her hand out of mine and sinking her teeth into her flesh. My mother's scream filled the room and fueled me even more as I ran towards her trying my best to pull the other woman away.

The woman recoiled from my searing touch, leaping to the other side of the room and staring frighteningly at me. Flames were quickly consuming everything in sight, and with a fleeting sneer at my mother and me she jumped from the window. I fell to my knees beside my mother, who had not stopped screaming, holding her head in my lap and caressing her face the same way that she had done for me.

Her eyes rolled backwards and another voice began to shriek as I clutched her to me.

He came out of nowhere, crumbling to the ground beside her and taking her hand in his. His face was contorted with anguish, but that was not what kept my attention, it was the crimson eyes that were now staring at me. I screamed with renewed fervor but couldn't move. If I ran, it meant leaving my mother unprotected, and no matter how much danger I was in, it was us against the world and I had to save her. He reached out to me and I cowered away. His hand stilled before returning to his side. He pulled my mother towards him and into his arms.

"No! Don't touch her! Don't hurt her!" I screamed, grabbing at my mother, but he was much larger and stronger than I. One moment I felt his fingertips against the side of my face, and the next they were gone. My mother was gone.

*******

I lay mesmerized by the sky above me. I'd seen it countless times before, but never before made the effort to stay and stare at the endlessness before me. Wishing I knew where the universe ended, and if that were where the little girl from my dreams were being kept from me. I felt his presence seconds before he lay beside me, following my gaze toward the sky.

"Her name is Nahla Ghislaine Daniels." I sighed as I said it. I'd had close to a dozen visions of her, and just recently had I learned her name. It was beautiful and unique, just as she was, and I found it fitting. Even trying it with Cullen tacked onto the end. Edward would roll his eyes if he caught my musings, but he was thankfully away with Bella, and it was just me and Jasper, who was reveling in my enthusiasm over the situation.

"Well, that's a mouthful." Jasper commented lightly, in response to his comment my lips curved slightly. It was moments like this that I was beyond grateful for the first vision that brought us together. Even though at times I cursed my foresight for letting me see things that seemed to be forever out of reach.

"I kind of like it. It's different," he chuckled.

"You would like different." I playfully nudged him with my elbow, which he caught and pulled me towards him so that I was laying against his chest.

"I think we should speak to Carlisle about this." He must have felt my objection to the idea and quickly finished up his train of thought. "To see all the possibilities."

"Jasper, you're speaking to a psychic. I've _seen_ all the possibilities. We just need to be patient . . . These visions are coming for a reason." The words came out with more confidence than I truly had within me, and although I had probably not fooled Jasper, a small part of me clung to that possibility. She was practically mine already, so close that I would, at times, sit in the kitchen in the dead of night and replay the vision of her running into my arms over and over again. I could smell the jasmine in her hair and her small voice lingering in the air. I had to be confident . . . I _had_ to be, or else I feared my world would come crashing down.

"_Mommy."_ The voice called to me, and I was alert instantly searching for the source of it. Jasper sensed my panic and was on his feet at once, probing the area for the source of my distress. The voice had sounded like Nahla's . . . she was calling to me, but from where? _"Mommy, wake up!" The flames licked at her marble skin, but did not burn her. Taking uncertain steps, she maneuvered her way through the debris, barely noticing the destruction as she followed the pull up the stairs. "Please, Mommy, please!" her voice sounded again._

"_Nahla, I'm here! Where are you?" She couldn't pick up a scent with the flames surrounding her, and there was no heartbeat that she could hear. Each door in the hall was partially charred except for the center one, which stood ablaze and shut off. I pulled the door open and gasped at what she saw. _

"Alice!" Jasper's firm grip on my shoulders was the first thing that I noticed after the fog, which settled prior to and during my visions, cleared up and I was once again aware of my surroundings. This time, however, Jasper was not alone: Carlisle and Esme were hovering close beside me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered what had caused them to come. Had I screamed in my vision? Had Jasper been so panicked that he called for them himself?

"There is going to be a fire." My voice sounded pathetically heartbroken to my own ears, and the look on my parents' and husband's faces told me the expression on my face mirrored my voice. "What was the point of me ever seeing her if she's . . . if . . ." My husband's arms were wrapped securely around me as I broke into tearless sobs. Was fate so cruel as to show me the daughter I had never known I'd craved for, only to snatch her away before I had a chance to claim her?

I stayed in his arms, wallowing in my grief for a long while before Esme asked for some time alone. Jasper was reluctant to let go, wanting to be there for me at what felt like one of the lowest points of my life. We had been through so much in our existence together, but never had we dealt with loss. It was our most profound loss, for I loved this little girl from the first vision I had of her, and somewhere along the way Jasper began to realize that he loved the idea of the girl as well.

I gently unraveled myself from his arms and gave him a small nod. Carefully, Jasper stepped away and left my mother and me alone in the room. Esme sat beside me and laid her hand against mine.

"I lost my baby boy without knowing it would happen. Waited so long for him, loved him before I ever held him, just to have him ripped out of my grasp by death's cold, uncaring hands, and it broke me, Alice." A tearless sob escaped my lips as I realized how similar my mother's story was to my own. Which I knew was Esme's point, but she did not mean to sadden me; she was telling me this for a different reason. She lifted my face gently and gave me a sad smile. "You've been given a chance."

"She's gone." My voice cracked as I forced the words from my mouth. She was gone, the little girl from my visions, the girl that I wanted to badly to call my own — who was _supposed_ to become my own — was gone.

"Have you given thought to the idea that you may have been given the vision to save that little girl from her fate? Maybe it is you who will get to her in time."

"I saw . . ."

"You have a chance, Alice."

"I don't know where she is!" I cried frantically, my mind spinning with the impossible request my mother was making of me and my innate desire to save my daughter. I wanted to, but I did not know where she was or how to get there or if I would make it there in time.

"You found Nahuel without knowing where he was. Look for her by checking the places that she isn't." She didn't understand. She couldn't; she never had the gift that I have. Things were not that easy; I'd tried, and reached dead ends each time that I did. There were no starting points, no ending points. I was given visions of her with us, and this afternoon's vision was the first of her in a different setting. Esme pulled me into a hug, and although she said no more, I knew she was offering me her support.

The following week was what I imagined Hell to be like. There were no more visions of her; there was nothing. All I had were the visions I continually played back in my head, seeing if maybe I missed something, maybe I had gotten a chance but hadn't known when it had come . . . except every time I looked back, I found no resolution to my problem. Jasper grew more anxious with each passing day, and although it pained me to see him suffer, the pain I felt over losing the only link I had to the girl who would become my daughter was greater.

He sat beside me, lovingly stroking my hair or sending me waves of calm as I grew more and more restless.

Edward came in on occasion to try and get me to talk or reveal something in my mind that they could use to help me, but I wouldn't allow him. There was nothing he could do. Bella was restless when she stopped by, unnerved at seeing me in a state so contrary to my typical 'pixie' nature. She could only last a few moments before she had to leave, and each time she left, Rosalie came in.

She and Esme were perhaps the only ones who understood what I felt — Rose because she had always yearned for a child just as I had yearned for Nahla, and Esme because she had lost her child just as I had lost mine. They each came at different times, and when they did, it calmed and relaxed me a bit. Neither talked, and yet their silence spoke louder than their words could have ever done.

Carlisle and Jasper were the ones to finally force me to go hunting. Jasper carried me and all but poured the buck's blood into my mouth to make me drink. I had not even registered the thirst until the first drops hit my tongue.

"Thank you." I managed to speak for the first time in a long time, and he smiled sadly at me, nodding his head in response. As he made to carry me again, it hit me.

_Her small frame curled up into the fetal position as she slept in the middle of a large room. She was surrounded by darkness, and although I tried to find her location, the vision was stuck. All I could see was her small form, seemingly broken, and I hoped and prayed beyond all measure that fate would not be so cruel as to show me her dead body. Did my suffering not suffice? The more I pulled away from the vision, the closer it brought me to her, allowing me to see her still face._

_Suddenly, her eyes opened, and I saw it. I was being dragged out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the house. I saw the house address, and finally, I knew where she was._

"What was it?" Jasper asked as I came back from the vision, and as much as I wanted to tell him, I could waste no time at the moment. I knew where she was, I knew she was alive . . . and I had to get to her.

AN: Thank you for reading! Next chapter will be up in a few.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Only thing that belongs to me is Nahla and her plotline_

_Chapter Two_

_Just give me back my pieces  
Just give them back to me please  
Just give me back my pieces  
And let me hold my broken parts  
- Ingrid Michaelson, Be Ok_

**

Although we'd booked the soonest flight it had taken nearly five hours to reach Dallas from Seattle. All the while, Carlisle and Jasper were discussing how to go about the situation. Carlisle had come to help in case she was hurt and for the emotional support we needed, although Esme usually filled that place he was holding his own. We'd left immediately after booking the flight and were bombarded with phone calls from everyone after they realized we had not returned from hunting. No one knew exactly what to say, and chose their words wisely not wanting to upset me. But I knew what it was they were worried about none-the-less. I'd seen her laying on the floor in the darkness, the vision had come a week after my last one of her supposed death. They were all afraid that she was dead or would be dead by the time that we found her but I knew differently. She would be alive, she had to be, and I didn't need another vision to tell me so.

Time seemed to stop as we pulled onto the road that held the single house. Carlisle stopped the car and I ran towards the house only to feel Jasper's hand around my wrists. _Together._We'd do this together. I nodded my head and intertwined my fingers with his as we ran together into the house. I barely recognized the home from my dream as the flames were gone and there was hardly any trace of them except for mild charring on the walls. We reached the door, after what to me felt like a millennia and I pushed it open.

**

I could feel myself moving but I did not know who was moving me or how I was being moved. Something warm was wrapped around me and suddenly I felt the sun against my face. Although my eye lids felt heavier than I had ever remembered, I managed to open my eyes and came face to face with…a sparkling man?

"You have glitter all over you." I stated and he chuckled, I heard other voices join him and turned to see a small girl sitting next to me. Her skin was sparkling also and I noticed her arm was wrapped around me over the blanket I was cocooned in. The other man was much taller and was sitting on the other side of the girl, staring at me with a weird expression on his face.

"We have special skin, it makes us...sparkle." I never heard of sparkling skin before but then I hadn't met many people outside of those who lived within a mile of the house. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Nahla."

"And how old are you Nahla?" He asked as he took out a black bag. It looked like the doctor bags that they always showed on TV.

"Ten. Are you a doctor?"

"Yes I am. Have you ever been to the doctor before?" I shook my head.

"I've seen one on the TV before and they always give people shots. Are you going to give me a shot?" He thought for a minute, before looking at the people next to me. I felt like I was missing out on something but a second later his attention was back on me.

"I'm not sure if you need one yet. Do you know why you've never been to the doctor's before?"

"I don't need to. I don't get sick." I replied looking down at my hands. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone more than that and I hoped they didn't ask. They seemed like nice people and I didn't want to lie to them.

"Hmm, well do you know where your mother or father is?" _She placed her hand over my heart. "When you love someone that is where they live no matter how far away they actually are."_My mother's voice filled my head but I couldn't remember when I had heard her say it. The memory seemed clouded and far away. "Nahla?" Where was my mother? I got to my feet unsteadily and I felt someone's hand help to keep me standing upright. She left me alone at home. She never did that.

What if something happened to her and I didn't know. What if… Like a flash memories began to bombard me. The crimson eyes, my mother's screams, the fire, him. She was gone. My mother was gone. My legs gave out but I was caught before I could hit the ground. Barely conscious of the fact someone was carrying me again. If I had tried harder, if I had done something, maybe just maybe she'd still be here.

***

The first thing I was aware of was the cool hand rubbing circles into my back. The room was warm and I realized I was cocooned in a blanket as I awoke and tried to stretch.

"Let me help you with that." The girl from before helped me free of the blanket. And I extended my arms. "

My mom, she's not coming back is she?" The girl shook her head sadly . I bit my lip and tried not to cry. I had to be strong, everything went out of control when I didn't. My momma wasn't coming back. My heart felt like a boxers punching bag and all I wanted to do was burn everything and anything in sight. Relieve some of the pain that was building every second, but I had to have control or it would control me. So instead I buried my face into the pillow and screamed. Screamed as loud as my lungs could permit and stopping only when my throat felt raw and my body ached.

***

Jasper wanted so badly to calm her, to ease the emotions away but I couldn't allow him to do that. No matter how much I wanted to ease the pain, she had to come to terms with it on her own. Not dealing with it in her own way would destroy her. He understood as he always did and stood beside me as I rubbed circles in her back. Carlisle had run every test known to man and said she was perfectly healthy for a child who had never gone to the doctor's, she had no scars, no signs of previous illness. Nothing. Before we left her home Jasper had taken a few of the photo albums and other objects he thought would have meaning, so that she could have with her. We spent the first four days alternating between trying to feed her and soothing her when she woke up from another nightmare. Edward had tried to speak to her and prod her mind but all he could see was red. On the fifth day, her eyes fluttered open and hazel eyes bore into my own.

"Can I have some water?" She asked and I quickly filled a cup and handed it to her. She sat up and gulped it down as fast as she could. "Who are you?"

"Alice." I answered with a smile and she turned to Jasper.

"I'm Jasper darlin'" She smiled weakly at that, before awkwardly fiddling with the blankets.

"Something wrong?"

"I need to use the bathroom, could you bring me?" I nodded.

"Of course." She got down off of the bed and followed me to the bathroom. I waited patiently for her to be done and she opened the door her long curls looking disheveled on top of her head.

"The bathroom is really nice." Her voice was rather raspy and I handed her a bottle of water to drink.

"Thank you, would you like to see the rest of the house?" She hesitated, looking back at the door to her room for a few moments before nodding. We walked around each floor, she gawked while I talked and explained whose room was whose and the significance of certain objects. We'd finished all the upper levels and began to make our way down the stairs when she stopped me.

"Is everyone going to be mad at me?"

"Of course not ,why would they be?" She became silent for awhile and shook her head as if she was having a conversation within her mind. "You could always meet them later if you're more comfortable with that." A small shake was the only response I got as she rubbed the locket around her neck.

"No it's okay." We started down the stairs and I felt a little pressure on my hand and noticed how focused she looked. Everyone in the family had long since heard our arrival and was waiting for us in the living room.

"Everyone this is Nahla, Nahla this is my father Carlisle, my mother Esme, brother Edward, brother Emmett, sister Rosalie, sister Bella and niece Reneesme. And you've already met Jasper my husband." Nahla's small eyes practically bugged out of her small face. I noticed the look of amusement on Edwards face and lifted an eyebrow.

"Everyone is so pretty." Nahla whispered to me, unaware that everyone could hear her despite how low she spoke. I smiled at her and she returned her gaze to my family.

"Well hello Nahla, I'm Esme" Esme greeted crouching down so that she was face to face with Nahla.

"Hi."

"Are you hungry?" Nahla nodded her head timidly and Esme smiled. "How about I make you something to eat?" They left, and although I wanted to follow them into the kitchen I knew she needed to bond with everyone without me there. Jasper wrapped his arms around me and I sighed.

"I'm glad to see her up and about." Carlisle was the first to speak. He'd been the most concerned over her lack of improvement of the past few days. He was worried she had repressed so much that instead of getting out of her fit she would regress into catatonia. This was one of the few times I was happy he was wrong. "After she's eaten I would like to examine her, to make sure she's okay."

"I wonder how she survived so long without food or water." Bella mused aloud, and Carlisle shrugged.

"Humans have survived more treacherous feats. It is now our duty to make sure she stays a survivor."

"She will." I vowed. Jasper tightened his arms around me, supporting me in more ways than one. "I know what you are all afraid of. I know that you are scared that I will be let down. That the way in which she lost her mother will close her off to me. But I'm not trying to replace her mother. I know I won't but I still want to care for her, I still love her as my daughter." Rosalie scoffed, she was perched on the sofa picking invisible lint off of her clothing.

"She's not yours to claim, Alice. You think that you can just barge into anyone's life and take over but that's not how things work. That little girl lost her mother. Her mother was taken from her and she was powerless to stop it. She'll never betray the image she has of her mother by accepting you in her place. You did the right thing in saving her but don't be dull enough to think she'll accept becoming your 'daughter'." Although I was ready for her to lash out at me, I hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did. She was the one to comfort me when we thought that I'd lost Nahla and now she condemned me when I finally had her.

"Emmett, why don't you take Rosalie out hunting." Carlisle suggested. Emmett nodded and led Rosalie out. The room fell quiet after their departure. They weren't sure what to say to me, Rosalie had made a valid point and yet they did not want to give up hope that everything would work out the way I wanted it to.

"I'm going to go check up on her." Gently shaking myself out of Jasper's arms, I made my way to the kitchen. Nahla was curled up on a dining room chair waiting for Esme to finish the pancakes.

"I tried talking to her but she shut down the moment we entered the kitchen." Esme spoke at vampire speed. I nodded and sat down in the chair next to her. Her ebony curls had freed themselves from her ponytail, cascading on either side of her face like curtains. She sensed my arrival and turned to face me. Her hazel eyes burning into my own.

"Bring her back Alice. Please I just want my mom back." My heart broke. Her body shook as tears began to stream down her face and I embraced her pulling her to me as she cried. "_Please._"

"I wish I could. I wish I could." It was the truth. Yes, I wanted her but in that moment I knew that I would do anything and everything to make her happy, to see the smile from my visions on her face.

She refused to eat after that and simply walked back into her room and laid down. I resumed my place by her side, trying to comfort her in what little ways I could. Rosalie came in later in the night and sat beside me.

"I've wanted a child since before you ever had your vision, before Bella was born and later entered our lives. I've wanted children my entire life. Yet the people who could careless about having one of their own both have children of their own. I hope you understand that I am happy for you but I am heartbroken for myself." I nodded, and hugged her. She gave me a squeeze before pulling away.

"She really is beautiful." She whispered as she looked down at Nahla, "She'll het through this."

"Thank you." Rose nodded placing a kiss atop Nahla's head before leaving. I settled into a laying position next to her, watching her sleep, making sure she was still breathing, still here with me. Jasper had went hunting again and I knew he was hurrying back to be with me. The house was silent except for the sound of Nahla's breathing and I focused on it.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked when he came back. I shook my head and he nodded sitting in the chair near the door. The same chair he's sat in since she arrived, afraid of getting too close to her.

"Does her smell bother you?"

"No I just… she's important. I don't want to slip up."

"You won't." He moved from his chair and stood beside her watching her, with an array of emotions flashing across his face. He knelt down so that his face was inches away from hers and laid a hand gently against her cheek. His pale hand contrasting with the caramel of her skin.

"I can feel her loss, even in her sleep. So much hurt within such a little person. I trust you Alice but I don't see how letting her feel this will help her."

"She needs this." Who I was answering I wasn't sure. Either Jasper's question or my uncertainty on whether or not I should allow him to just make it stop.

***

It was three weeks before she would speak again. She lay in her bed, staring off into the distance as I absently stroked her shoulder.

"I had a dream last night," She said.

"About what?"

"My mom. She told me to remember that the people that you love are never lost. They live forever in your heart. She said she'll always be with me." I continued to stroke her shoulder as she spoke. "What's going to happen to me now Alice?"

"Now you live honey." She nodded.

"Can I stay here with you?"

"Of course." She nodded to herself before sitting up.

"Thank you for helping me." I smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

"I'm going to call Carlisle in to check on you." She nodded again and I left the room to find my cell phone. Carlisle was at work but I knew he'd been waiting for this moment for a long time and would want to check up on her.

***

Alice left and I felt alone in the room. I pulled the blankets off of me and stood up, my legs felt funny as I stretched and stood on them for the first time in a long time. I'd never really taken the time to look at my surrounding and I realized that the room was decorated for a little girl. The walls a soft green that matched the bedding and white furniture. It was pretty and comfortable and it somehow felt like me. I went to the book case and skimmed through the books that they had. Most of them, I realized, I'd read before. There was even a copy of Harry Potter, worn to the bone with dog ears and tattered binding, just like…I pulled the book from thee shelf and flipped open the inside cover. _To my little bookworm, Happy Birthday, you may not be going to Hogwarts as a witch but you can reach anywhere with your imagination._ _-Love Mom._ It was my book. I pulled out the other familiar books and realized they were _all_ mine. Did that mean they'd brought some of my stuff here? I pulled open the closet doors looking for more of my things. I found a box and took it out. Opening it hurriedly, my breath caught when I looked inside.

These were not my things. They were my mother's. Her favorite perfume. Her journals. Photo albums. All of it was her's. I wasn't sure when the tears started but when Alice reentered the room her form was blurred until she began to wipe away at my face.

"Jasper was the one that found them all." I nodded, still fondling the contents of the box. I pulled out her perfume and closed the box again, putting it back into the closet. My next search was short and I almost smiled when I found what I was looking for. A teddy bear, that was sitting on my dresser. I sprayed it with the perfume before tucking the bottle away in a drawer and clutched the bear close to me.

"Can I tell him thanks?"

"Sure, he's just downstairs with everyone else. I could call him up?"

"No, it's okay. I'll go down." She extended her hand to me like she had the first time I'd gone down with her and I latched onto it. I knew she was purposefully walking slowly, to give me time and I appreciated it. It wasn't so much that I was eager to see everyone again but more that I needed to get out of the room.

She had not exaggerated when she said everyone else. The entire family was seated in the living room doing some activity or another.

"It's nice to see you up and about Nahla." Carlisle greeted, crouching down so that he could look me in the eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay."

"Would you mind if I gave you a quick check up to make sure that you're actually okay?" I shook my head and he led to another room, it had more books than the library back home, with a desk in the center. The one wall that wasn't covered by an overstuffed bookcase, was made of glass and gave the perfect view of a pond. Carlisle led me to one of the leather chairs and I sat.

"How do you feel? Do you feel nauseous? Dizziness?" I shook my head.

"I feel… fine. A little tired."

"That is to be expected." He took out some medical supplies, that I recognized from watching television and started his check up. After a few minutes he seemed satisfied with his findings and put everything away. "I'd like to do some blood work just to be on the safe side. Are you afraid of needles?" I shook my head again and he prepared the needle and tied a plastic strap around my arm before sticking me with the needle. I watched it fill with my blood before he pulled it out and put a bandage on my miniature wound. He was placing the blood away when I saw him pause. _Oh no something was wrong with my blood._

"Can I go back to Alice now?" I asked as I got to my feet.

"Of course." I was out of the room before he had a chance to say anything else. Alice was sitting next to Jasper and I sat on the floor in front of them.

"What are you guys watching?"

"Cowboys versus the Titans." The big one replied, his eyes glued to the TV. I looked around the room at all their eyes, intently watching the game.

"Emmett and Jasper have got a wager on the game. A pretty hefty one I should add. So we're all pretty curious at how this will end up." Esme explained, from her seat in the armchair. Carlisle came out and sat beside her and I looked away.

"Especially since the pixie over there isn't allowed to look." Emmett added.

"Well the Cowboys win." I replied disinterestedly. Nine pairs of eyes instantly fell upon me.

"And how exactly do you know this?" Emmett asked.

"Because there's no way the Titans can beat the Cowboys. Their players aren't nearly half as good, they switched coaches this season and I mean come on their up against the _Cowboys_." The room was silent for a split second before everyone erupted in laughter.

"Care to wager on that short stuff?" I nodded, hoping to my feet and walking over to Emmett.

"Loser wears the winning teams jersey till the next rematch." His eye brow rose and he stroked his chin for a split second before extending his hand. I shook it.

"No!" Emmett boomed as the Cowboys gained the final point beating the Titans with a forty point lead. I stifled a smile, as he fell to his knees before the television screen. He looked so heartbroken I didn't have the heart to make him wear the jersey. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, maybe if it were another team they would have won. You don't have to wear the jersey." He shook his head.

"A deals a deal curly. I gotta hold up my end of the bargain. You however are going to get this for rooting for the opposite team." His fingers began attacking my sides and I screamed bloody murder, giggling and trying to get away. After seeing that I was thoroughly tickled he threw me over his shoulder.

"Be careful Emmett!" Alice warned and Emmett chuckled, it was deep enough to shake me.

"I got it, precious cargo." He whirled around a few times before setting me on my feet and I stumbled a bit dizzy.

"So not fair." I mumbled as I found the floor and laid on my back, trying to get the room to stop spinning.

"Life's not fair short stuff." He said jokingly. I knew he had not meant to cause the effect that he did but I felt my breath catch. Life wasn't fair. I pushed myself up and got to my feet before running out of the living room.

"Great job Emmett." I heard someone growl and it only added to my despair. It wasn't his fault, he wasn't the one who took my mom away. I ran out of the house and across the lawn towards the pond I'd seen from Carlisle's study. It started in my core as it always did and I could feel it extending to my limbs. I reached the pond and fell to my knees letting it escape. I focused on the pond watching the flames disappear once they met the surface. I could almost hear my mother's voice. _It's okay Nahla, sometimes you've just got to let it all go._ She'd tell me every time I had to let go and I did, I tried my best to let go of all the flames. The useless flames that could not save my mother's life.

"I'm so sorry Momma." I withdrew the flames and pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. "I'm so sorry." Alice surprised me when she appeared by my side. She sat down quietly staring across the pond.

"She wouldn't blame you. You're a child, there was nothing you could do." I sniffed and wiped my face. I lifted my hand and let the fire surround it.

"If I was quick enough she'd still be here."

"You don't know that." I shrugged.

"It's my fault that she's gone." Alice shifted so that she was kneeling before me and took my face between her hands, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

"It is not your fault. There was nothing you could have done. What happened to your mother was a tragedy and I wish I could undo what has been done but what's done is done and now all that's left to do is realize that we cannot change the past." She pulled me forward and I rested my head against her shoulder. My tears silently falling onto her blouse. She didn't speak again after that and neither did I. I just cried for my loss. Vaguely remembering that I had forgotten to thank Jasper for saving the things that he did.

_Thank you for reading! Next Chapter will be up in a few. Remember "reviews make the heart grow fonder" :D, tell me what you like, don't like or questions you have about the story._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

He paced. It was what Jasper did when he was angry, upset or in this case, both. I watched him pace knowing that he needed it to think clearly and I was not prepared to have this conversation with an emotional Jasper.

"You should have told me." He said as his pacing came to a stop and he stood before me. His eyes held all the feelings of betrayal and disappointment he felt, they were so potent I didn't need his ability to tell me how he was feeling, I was already swimming in it from this one look.

"I knew what you would say. This was the only way." I began to explain but was stopped by a wave of annoyance. "Care to explain?"

"Nahla is the child, I'd understand if she did something she didn't think we'd agree with and decided not to tell us. You, Alice, are my wife. This is a marriage, a partnership. It takes two of us to make decisions this big. You can't just do these things behind my back." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Absently, I noticed it was a habit all the Cullen men had adopted from Carlisle.

"You're scared she's going to hurt me."

"She can start fire with a thought. She's only ten and her mother died recently that is a recipe for disaster." He sighed again. "I cannot allow your life to be put into that kind of danger. This was a reckless decision Alice."

"Her mother was human and she never hurt her." I knew what he wanted to say but he was wise enough not to say it no matter how much he wanted me to see his way. Instead, he began to pace again. "I won't lie and tell you that her power isn't dangerous because it is, but Nahla, the little girl who that power belongs to is not."

"You don't know that Alice! Everything could change in a split second. Or have you forgotten how your visions work?" The room fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

"I know her."

"No darlin', you know the visions you have of her. This is an actual girl. She is no longer just a possibility. She's a reality. I won't let you be in danger Alice." _Her screams stunned the entire house into silence, her wailing impossibly chilling to the vampires. _I gasped as I came out of the vision and my eyes locked with Jasper's. I knew it would have been wiser to tell Jasper what I was about to do, but my body moved on it own accord propelling me towards the house, up to the stairs and to Nahla's room. I ran to her and shook her awake her eyes shot open and I watched as her body glowed with flames before they enveloped us. It was a strange feeling being surrounded by flames, knowing that your body should be charred and yet being perfectly fine.

Nahla stared at me with pure terror in her eyes before retracting the flames and going limp. I caught her and eased her back down onto the pillows. Jasper's arms were around me with in the next second his body trembling as he held me close. I could almost hear his silent warning to never do that again. I wrapped my arms around him and held him just as tightly.

"Are you okay?" He finally verbalized.

"I'm fine." I looked up him and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I just saw what was happening to her and had to stop it. I know you don't understand but seeing her was like finding our family all those years ago. This is where she is suppose to be. She is no more a danger to us than you were to our family when we first met. Both sides were wary but everything worked out. This will work out." His eyes flickered over my head to Nahla than back to me and he nodded his head slightly. I gave a small laugh of relief and threw myself into his arms.

"Alice?" Nahla called to me. She looked around drowsily her eyes resting at the doorway where I finally noticed my entire family standing, staring disbelievingly at us. Her heart rate was racing as she looked warily at them. I went to her and wrapped her in a hug, humming a song I wasn't quite sure where I'd gotten it from. "I didn't do enough. I didn't save her." She cried into my chest, "I didn't save her." There were no words I could say that she would listen to at this point, so instead I decided t continue to hum and sooth her back as I rocked the both of us. "Everyone knows." She whispered to me. "I'm sorry they're scared. I don't want them to hate me, I won't hurt them." Her voice quivered a bit as she hugged me tighter. "I promise."

"I'm not scared of you short stuff!" Emmett's booming voice startled her and she jumped and looked over at him. "I think that little fire thing you did was pretty cool." He smiled brightly at her and she grinned back.

"I do however think it'd be best to have another exam since we now know there is more to meet the eye. Would you mind?" Carlisle asked walking towards her in his usual calm demeanor. Nahla looked up at me for reassurance before nodding at him and he extended her hand. I watched them leave before my family's eyes all settled on me and I prepared to dish out the answers to their questions.

***

"I couldn't get the results from your test. It appears that your blood boiled after I took it from your body and it's contents denatured." I understood what the boiling part meant but I wasn't sure what he meant by denatured. I was still nervous that he would realize I was a freak and therefore decided not to ask about it. We walked out of the house and into the back yard. "Would you mind showing me how it works?" I thought about it for a moment and shook me head. My nervousness was getting the better of me and if he did see me use it again I wanted the most control I could have.

"I can't."

"Remember you don't have to do anything you don't want to."He waited for me to nod my head before continuing. "Would you mind talking about it?" He asked, he seemed nice enough so I nodded my head again.

"Okay."

"How do you feel when it's happening?"

"It depends on why it's happening. Sometimes it happens when I'm scared and I feel safe when it happens, sometimes when I'm nervous I can feel it building and I have to leave because it's harder to control. But I'm really good at controlling it. My mom taught me how." We continued to walk, my gaze shifting in every direction but his. It'd come soon. He'd tell me I have to leave and I wouldn't have anywhere to go. My palms began to itch as I tried to suppress the flames that I didn't want him to see.

"You protected Alice, did you know you were doing it?" _Her eyes rolled backwards and another voice began to shriek as I clutched her to me. _My dream of my mother's attack replayed itself in my mind and I swallowed hard. I didn't do enough, it wasn't enough.

"I want Alice." I croaked suddenly feeling very alone even though Carlisle was walking barely a foot away from me. Alice appeared next to me and I latched onto her. She was humming that song again and I felt myself relax in her arms. "Please don't make me go." Her arms tightened around me and I could feel her shake her head.

"You're not going anywhere. No one is going to make you go anywhere you don't want to."

"Promise?"

"I promise." I pulled away from her so I could look her in the eyes. Remembering how my mom always told me you could tell if someone was lying by looking in their eyes. I wasn't sure what I was suppose to see but Alice was looking straight at me and she smiled slightly.

"Okay. I'm sorry if I scared you. I was so scared and I didn't mean to. I hope I didn't burn anything." She shook her head.

"You didn't scare me."

"Most people get scared when they see what I can do."

"You'll learn that we are not most people." I smiled at her in return before taking a deep breath and turning to face Carlisle.

"I'll show you now."

"Only if you feel comfortable." I nodded and walked a safe distance away from them. I decided to do something small, I found my center and concentrated. The waves seeped out of my body burning the ground around me, my memory bringing forth the song Alice had been humming. It was done and I stepped out to see what I'd created.

The burned marks on the ground formed the design of the sun shining, just like the one my mother had painted in my bedroom.

"It's beautiful." Carlisle spoke as he crouched down to touch the design.

"Thank you."

"How about we go inside and get you something to eat? It's four in the morning and from the looks of it you won't be going to bed anytime soon." Alice led the way back to the house and I noticed no one else was around when we go there. She made a bowl of Captain Crunch and set it before me.

"Thank you."

"No problem." She sat in the seat next to me and stared as I ate. I could feel the blood rise to my face and I looked down at my cereal.

"Aren't you going to eat too?"

"I've already eaten." I nodded and picked up the bowl to drink the rest of the milk and setting it down. Alice took it to the sink and set it down. "Want to watch some TV?" I nodded again and followed her into the living room. I sat on the couch and put my feet up resting my head against the armrest and Alice sat on the other end, she put on Disney Channel and I barely got ten minutes into the show before my eyes drifted shut and I was asleep.

**

I woke up to someone poking me gently on the cheek. I opened an eye and saw Reneesme laying on the bed next to me with her finger still ready to poke me again.

"Hi?" She smiled at me and I smiled back. She put her hand to my cheek and I saw myself getting ready. "Did you make me see that?" She nodded, showing me myself surrounded with flames holding onto Alice, it was me and Alice from last night.

"I'm special too." She finally spoke. It made me feel so much better knowing that she was special and I wasn't alone. There was someone else here that could understand. I got up and went into the bathroom to get ready, after she sent me another vision of me doing so. When I came back, clothes we were laid out for me and I noticed Reneesme was seated on Alice's lap, as Alice bounced her up and down.

"Nessie and I think today is as good a day as any for you to leave the house. Get some fresh air. What do you think?" I picked up the clothing and went into the bathroom to get dressed.

"That sounds okay." I replied from the other side of the door. I slipped on the black leggings and blue tunic before stepping out again.

"You'll just love shopping with us."

I did not _love_ shopping with them. The first two hours had been fun, the third hour was bearable, but by the fourth hour I was ready to call it quits. Alice and Nessie, they bounced along to every store, picked out outfits and accessories and shoes, and I knew that if I had to try on one more outfit, it'd end up as embers before it actually got on me.

We were currently seated in the food court my aching feet making us stop. Alice went off to get us some food while Reneesme and I stayed with the merchandise. Our table was on the far side of the food court the furthest away from most other people. I wondered why Alice had chosen it when there was plenty of tables closer to the window and sunroof. Suddenly, I remembered when I first met her and Carlisle had been sparkling in the sun.

"Nessie, why do they all sparkle in the sun?" I asked, watching Alice in the distance, ordering from the salad bar.

"They're special too."

"What can they do?" She reached for my hand and I gave it to her, I saw the family playing baseball, they were moving at super speed. I saw Alice with her eyes blank, and Jasper in a room where people were arguing, he looked upset, soon the arguing stopped and everyone was calm just like Jasper now was. I saw Edward sitting next to someone who was speaking to him without moving their lips. The vision changed and I saw the forest, Nessie and Bella running towards something in the distance, they finally reached it and they pounced, that was when I saw that they were drinking the blood from a deer. I gasped and suddenly I was back in the food court and I pulled my hand away from Nessie.

"You're scared?" I didn't have time to respond because Alice was back, a tray of food in her arms. She sat it down before us and sighed.

"I should have known Nessie would say something before Jasper and I came up with a way to tell you." She smiled slightly at me and I think I smiled back. I wasn't really sure. So they were vampires? But they could go out in the day?

"How can you go out during the day?"

"Our skin simply 'sparkles' in the sun, we don't burn or combust." She answered as she placed the food in front of us. She gave me what looked like a tuna wrap, a bag of chips and apple juice. Nessie had a triple stack hamburger, I wasn't sure how Alice expected a three year old to be able to eat that.

"You don't eat humans?"

"No, we're vegetarian, only animals."

"What's your power?"

"I can see the results that certain decisions will lead to as long at the intention remains the same, if not the outcome changes."

"So you can see the future?"

"Yes."

"Cool." It really was cool. I wished I could see the future, it'd solve everything. We ate in silence , my worry that Nessie wouldn't be able to finish the hamburger was unneeded since she all but inhaled it and asked Alice to buy her another, which she did, and she inhaled that one too. Alice mumbled something that sounded like "stupid wolves" but I wasn't sure I heard her correctly.

"Alright, are you girls ready for some more shopping?" Nessie nodded her head as enthusiastically as I was shaking my head. Shopping was the last thing I wanted to do, going back and reading or just watching TV was what I really wanted to do. There was only so much shopping a girl could take.

"Well how about we just go to one more place and then we can go home?" One more place wasn't bad so I nodded my head and off we went.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw it. My head snapped to the side and my eyes zoned in on the beauty before me. All previous exhaustion left my body and I darted into the store. There were so many books I wasn't quite sure where to start. Well, I knew enough to take the new X-Men New Mutants copy then went in search of the original copy.

"You sure know how to break a woman's heart." Alice sighed again and I laughed, "forgoing shopping to read a comic book?"

"It's an skill." I said with a smirk, she huffed with mock annoyance. "Can I please have it?" I stressed the please and made the puppy dog eyes that I knew no one could resist. Alice just smiled at me and nodded. She then led us to the Borders across from the comic book store and I ended up leaving the store with _Because of Winn Dixie, Holes, _and the entire Harry Potter Series. It was like Alice knew what I wanted before I did, I realized it was probably because she was psychic, I didn't realize she'd also picked up some other books she thought I'd like and Nessie had chosen some of her own. If I didn't believe Alice was a vampire before I definitely did now as I watched her carried not only the bags of books, the bags of clothing and accessories and usher us out of the store and back to the car. She refused me when I asked to help and said she could handle it.

Once we got to the house she shifted the duty of unloading the car to Jasper and Emmett. Reneesme ran off to tell her parents all about her day and Alice and I settled into the living room.

"Thank you for all the stuff. It was really nice of you to buy it for me."

"You don't need to thank me, it's what guardians do." Guardian? I knew that Alice said I could stay here but what did that make everyone for me. Where they all my guardians or was it just Alice and maybe Jasper?

"Is everyone my guardian or just you?"

"Jasper and I are your primary guardians, the rest of the family, is just that, your family."

"So you're like my parents?" I asked slowly, testing the word out.

"Yes but you don't need to feel obligated to be a certain way with us, we just want to take care of you and make sure you're happy."

"Oh okay." I knew I probably should have said something else but I couldn't think of anything thing to say, I wasn't even sure how I felt about this. Emmett came in seconds later plopping down on the couch and giving me a noogie before turning on the TV and all was forgotten. All except...

"Hey why aren't you wearing the Cowboys jersey?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The only one I own is Nahla, all else is SM's**

**Chapter Four**

_Getting to know you,  
Getting to know all about you.  
Getting to like you,  
Getting to hope you like me_

_-_The King and I

The next few weeks passed unbelievably fast. Nahla's nightmares became fairly inconsistent occurrences within the first two months and were slowly dissipating. For that we were all grateful. Nahla was interacting with the family more as time went on and Nessie and she seemed to have formed a bond no one really understood. Despite the physical age difference, that made it so that Nessie looked to be four years younger than her, they still seemed to bond. They did not speak often but they spent nearly all their free time together, reading or watching TV in silence, and sharing the occasional laugh. Nahla had also formed a bond with Emmett and Rosalie. Bantering and speaking 'football talk' with Emmett who had been a good sport and wore the Cowboys jersey until the next game, although he swore to never make a wager against someone so devious again. Rosalie had taken to her rather quickly and spent the majority of her time with both her and Nessie, accompanying them in whatever activity they were doing. Unsurprisingly, Nahla had taken to Carlisle and Esme as grandparent's quickly. She got along with Edward and Bella quite nicely, although due to their chronic honeymoon haze they did not spend much time with the rest of the family with the exclusion of Reneesme. The only family member she seemed reluctant to be around was Jasper and the feeling seemed highly mutual.

They were cordial and even spared each other timid smiles but never interacted more than that. Except for the game nights, for some reason the moment the game was on their invisible barrier came down and they teamed up against Emmett for which ever team opposed his. It was hilarious to watch and it became one of my favorite times. They both seemed so at ease, Nahla had even thrown herself into Jasper's arms at one point. Before something clicked within her and she scrambled out and turned back to the game as if nothing had happened.

I knew Jasper was nervous around her, now that her power was understood better and she wasn't deemed "dangerous" Jasper seemed to finally realize that she was a human child and all his previous fears resurfaced. We'd talked on multiple occasions but nothing ever changed. Nahla sensed his discomfort near her and tended to avoid being near him as much as possible. It was going to have to come to an end, I just needed to figure out how.

I sat at her bedside watching her sleep and I understood finally what it was like for Edward. To watch over the one you love was gratifying in and of itself, but part of me was scared the moment I was not there she would disappear or her breathing would stop. It was irrational as Jasper had told me many times but emotions hardly ever were rational, something he had also told me not so long ago.

"I often wish I were able to experience you children as actual children." Esme's voice startled me and I realized I had been completely engrossed in watching Nahla I hadn't realized she'd entered the room.

"Do you think it ever gets tiresome? Watching her sleep like this? I'm not sure I'll ever tire of it." Nahla adjusted herself in her sleep turning her face away from me and I looked up at Esme as she responded.

"I don't think you'll ever tire of it either."

"What do you think I should do about her relationship with Jasper?"

"Jasper is scared of hurting her and Nahla is absorbing his anxiety, it'd be best to have them resolve this issue themselves. With minimal interference on your part. They need to form a bond that has nothing to do with you. " The vision I received off of her words was short but I knew I had my answer.

I woke up with sweat dripping off of me. Alice was there as always whispering to me and trying to sing my bad dreams away. It helped. The nightmares were coming less and less but the pain was still there. It hurt so much to think about it and I was grateful that no one forced me to talk about it. I wasn't sure that I could. After my heart had slowed down to a normal pace I got up and got ready for the day, my clothes were already picked out and waiting for me on the bed when I came out of the shower as usual. It made Alice happy to dress me up so I let her, I owed her that much after all she's done for me. It's a simple dress and a cardigan that's almost the same length and flats, i go to the mirror to look at myself and I smile at how ragged I look. My mom used to make fun of how dazy I looked when I woke up in the morning as she helped me get ready.

Nessie came in and sat on the bed as I french braided hair and put on a headband. We walked down to the kitchen together and walked in on everyone in the family sitting around and talking. It was weird seeing them there as they usually never were unless they were making me or Nessie something. Esme made buttermilk pancakes that had to be the best I'd ever tasted in my life. For someone who never had to eat food she knew how to make it like a pro.

"Nahla, have you ever gone to school?" Carlisle asked sitting down next to me on at the kitchen Island. I shook my head.

"My mom taught me at home."

"Would you mind if I asked you to take some tests to see where you are and what you've learned?" I shook my head again. He waited until I was done to give me the test, it looked like it would take forever but I'd already agreed so I set to work.

It wasn't bad at all, most of the things we went over my mom had already taught me or I used what she taught me to figure out the rest. Finally I finished, stretched my fingers and gave it to Carlisle who went to grade it. When he came back he was smiling, he spoke to Alice and Jasper so fast that I didn't catch what he said but the smile on their faces gave me the impression that it was good news.

"How did I do?" I finally asked eager to find out what they were so happy about.

"You scored advanced on your placement test, we can start you off in the seventh grade or the eighth if you are up for the challenge."

"I have to go to school?" I tried to calm the anxiety I felt in the pit of my stomach at the thought of it. Going to school meant being around a lot of people, and large crowds made me nervous and I couldn't control my ability as well when I was nervous.

"No, not right away, we'd like to gradually ready you to go to school like the others." Carlisle explained, "For now you can be home schooled like you were before and like Nessie is now."

"Are you going to teach me?"

"I will be teaching you English and Literature. Esme will instruct you in Mathematics. Rosalie will be in charge of Biology and has also offered to teach you basic mechanics. Emmett will be handling all physical education. Edward will be your piano instructor. Alice has designed her own curriculum based on Art/Design and Computer technology and finally Jasper will be in charge of History." How was I going to learn all this? I knew physical education would be fun with Emmett and I'd hardly think of it as a class but Mechanics? I didn't really know anything about that yet.

"Don't worry we will start off slow so that you can get accustomed to your schedule." I nodded and absently looked around for Nessie who was being held by her mother. She smiled at me when we made eye contact and I smiled back.

"Okay, are Nessie and I going to have the same schedule?"

"No you are both at different learning levels so she will be learning different subjects at the same time that you are but you two will have lunch together." I nodded trying to squash my sadness. We'd be in the same house with the same people that we were always with, there wasn't any reason for me to feel sad. But I couldn't help feeling the way that I was.

"Okay."

"Do you have any questions?" I shook my head. They decided they'd do a test run so I could see how things would go in a few days when we started the lessons. Carlisle would be teaching me in his study. It was cozy in there and he let me sit in his huge office chair as he told me of all the books we'd read and things I'd know like the back of my hand. It sounded interesting and I looked forward to learning about it once we started lessons. Alice took me next into a room I'd never seen in the house before, it looked like a studio but the walls were white and plain.

"This room is your canvas. You can make anything of it that you'd like."

"Anything?" I asked disbelievingly as I stood in the center of the room and looked at the vast amount of space I'd have. She nodded her head and I grinned. This would be hands down my favorite class. She walked me to the garage where Rosalie was waiting, leaning against one of the many cars that were there. I'd been in the garage before but it seemed that every time I came in there was yet another new car that Rosalie was fixing up. She gave me a run through of everything I'd be learning like Carlisle had before I was shuffled off to Edward. I'd never really spent that much time with Nessie's parents but they seemed nice enough. Edwards smiled at me just as Nessie had that morning while I was talking to Carlisle and I smiled back.

"Have you ever played an instrument before?" I shook my head. "We'll be starting with the basics then and we'll work our way up." He played a few songs that he would be teaching me before Emmett came barreling through and picked me up and carried me out like i was a football. I was giggling by the time he set me down and I saw that he had made a black dash under each eye like he was geared up for a game.

"Are you ready to rumble?" He asked with a serious face, I tried to keep my composure but another giggle escaped followed by another one and I saw his lips quirk.

"You're silly."

"Not as silly as you're going to look." I caught his drift a second too late as his fingers had already found my sides and were tickling me mercilessly. He stopped only after I had tears in my eyes and my giggles reached almost inhuman octaves. I saw Jasper at the back door of the house and I stuck out my tongue to Emmett before running to him. Instead of going in the house he led me closer to the woods towards a path.

"How do you process cold weather?" He asked as we walked along the path.

"I don't ever remember being cold, I grew up in Dallas." Jasper nodded but he had a far away look in his eyes.

"How would you feel about having your history class outside?"

"I wouldn't mind." The scenery around the house was beautiful and it distracted me from how weird Jasper was around me. I wasn't sure if he was nervous or if it was something else but it made me feel anxious. Nessie came running to us out of nowhere with a huge smile on her face.

"I have something to show you."

"Bye Uncle Jazz!" She said as she ran through the woods with my wrist in a death grip. We reached a clearing and she finally let go, looking around for something. I hoped that we weren't lost since I couldn't remember from which direction we'd come from.

"What do you want me to see Nessie?"

"Just wait a moment, they're coming." She said excitedly, I had no idea who she's talking about but I stand beside her and wait. That is when I see them.

They were huge, as in _massive_ wolves. Nessie started to skip over to them and I grabbed her arm, trying unsuccessfully to pull her back. But being half vampire made her ridiculously heavy despite her size and she ended up dragging me with her towards the animals. I put up a fire shield and she finally stopped.

"Nahla? What's wrong?" She asked confused.

"Do you not see the huge wolves you're running to? What if they eat you?" She giggled and I crossed my arms looking as stern as I could which only made her laugh harder.

"The wolves won't hurt us Nahla. Look!" She walked towards the shield and I let it down so that she could run towards the wolves, one ran to her and she giggled as it licked her face. I stood off at the distance watching warily as she went around hugging them all. One of them locked eyes with me, its fur was sandy colored and it kind of reminded me of the lab I used to have. It stuck its tongue out and I felt my eyes widen into saucers, then more surprisingly... It laughed. A loud barking laugh before running into the woods, the others went after him. Seconds later a group of five came out. They were all extremely tall, the one in front scooped Nessie up and she beamed at him.

"Jake!"

"Hey Ness, you must be Nahla. Hi, I'm Jacob Black." He smiled and waved at me and I did the same back. "This is Leah Clearwater, Seth Clearwater, Embry Call, and Quil Ateara." They all waved and I waved back. The one he'd called Seth came over to me and squatted down so I wouldn't have to break my neck to look him in his face.

"The loch ness monster and a talking lion, and I thought it was all make believe." He laughed.

"Says the werwolf." I reply with a roll of my eyes which makes him and the rest of his friends laugh.

"I think this may be the one bearable Cullen." The girl, Leah, commented. Nessie gave a pout and she shrugged. "You're growing on me, don't worry about it." This time Jacob rolled his eyes and set Nessie down.

"We brought food for you guys." Nessie announced as she ran to where I had been holding her before and grabbed a basket I hadn't noticed she had been carrying.

"You see you just warmed me up to you even more." Leah went over and we all helped set up for the picnic. I was surprised Nessie had been able to carry it all. The basket was full of drumsticks, corn on the cob, cut up watermelon, and an apple pie.

"Umm I hate to be the one to rain on this parade but nothings warm." Embry stated as he took the container of chicken out. Nessie hardly ate human food so she didn't know how to do everything and I never had to worry about warming my food before hand, so it made sense that she hadn't though that far ahead.

"Okay well everyone who wants their food warm pass it over here." I ignited my hands and held them over the containers with food in it, Esme had invested in melt resistant kitchenware because I'd had one too many melting incidents. They stared in awe at my hands as I warmed the food and passed it back to them.

"So what are you?" Quil asked interestedly as he took all the meat off the chicken with one bite. I shook off my shock and answered.

"Fire-starter, pyromaniac, awesome?" They all chuckled, I reached down for my drumstick when I noticed it was missing. My eyes immediately went to Seth who was sitting next to me looking everywhere but at me. "What happened to my chicken Seth?"

"Chicken? What chicken?" He asked innocently, I ignited my hand and looked at him seriously.

"I'll give you a five second head start." He was up and running before I finished and I put out my hand, pulling his plate towards me and picking at the leftovers that I wanted. "You're not going after him?" Quil asked reclining on the blanket with heavy eyes.

"Nope, but he doesn't know that so we'll just let him keep running while I give him a taste of his own medicine." They chuckled again, Nessie and Jacob went on a walk, Quil and Embry were both the unfortunate victims of a food coma so that left Leah who sat scowling in the direction Nessie and Jacob had gone off in. "Your face is going to stay like that if you keep it like that for so long." Her head turned slowly to me and she glared, I shrank back a bit. Maybe she didn't like me as much now. "I'm not trying to be mean. It just what my mom always told me." I offered, she raised and eyebrow then sighed.

"So what's your story kid? How did you end up living in the crypt?"

"You mean with the Cullens?" She nodded. "They found me after something bad happened to my mom." I didn't really want to go into details and she seemed to understand since she didn't ask anymore questions. "What's yours?"

"Life sucks."

"And I thought I was being tight lipped."

"Never underestimate my ability all mighty pip squeek." She stretched out closed her eyes. "You'll fit right in with this clan of misfits." I wasn't sure what to reply so I didn't, I got up and went looking for the chicken bandit who had been missing for a while.

A few minutes into my search I spotted the large sand colored wolf, he was sitting perched on a rock looking into a small creek.

"Seth?" He lifted his head off of his paws and looked at me. "Can you talk when you're a wolf?" He shook his head then turned it to the side in the cute way that dogs do. "Well I feel as though you should know, I ate all the rest of your food as payback." He made that barking laugh again and I joined in. It was funny talking to him this way, I couldn't really believe this was the same Seth. He came off of his rock and to me, towering more than he already had while he was human. He lowered himself enough for me to climb onto his back and I did, holding on for dear life as he rose and took off running through the forest. It was so beyond cool. I wondered if this was what it felt like when my family ran. We sped through the forest and finally came back to the clearing where the others were. Seth put me down and went into the forest coming back in his human form.

"Pretty cool huh?" I nodded.

"That was so awesome, I've never moved so fast!" He smiled smugly, I didn't mind it though it had been beyond fun and I wanted to do it again as soon as possible. The others had awoken and were chatting among themselves, Nessie and Jacob included.

"This was a good day but we've got to head back soon, we'll hang out again tomorrow." Jacob promised as he gave Nessie a hug then me, Seth hugged Nessie and ruffled my hair before they all turned and left together. Nessie and I laid down beside each other and sighed.

"I like them."

"Good."

"Ahh!" My throat burned but I continued to scream my lungs out, clenching for dear life on the bar and trying to suppress my defense mechanism. The others were laughing at my expense but I couldn't help it. I did not do roller coasters. We had tried countless times when I was younger but it always ended the same way. The ride was over and I jumped from my seat ran over to the trash can and hurled. "I am never doing that again." I groaned as I finally emptied my stomach's contents. Nessie laughed but otherwise kept holding my hair as I waited for more to come.

Once I was sure I was in the safe zone, I took a step away from the can.

"Wasn't that so much fun?" She asked excitedly.

"Yea...fun. I think I'm going to sit out the rest of the rides." Her face dropped and I could sense the famous Reneesme Cullen pout coming on.

"But I don't want to go if you're not going." Thankfully Jacob stepped in at that moment.

"The rest of us are still going and I could even scream like Nahla if you'd like." Nessie chuckled but shook her head.

"I don't want to leave her alone."

"I'll stay with her I've been on all the rides more times than I can really count" Seth offered, Nessie seemed satisfied and the rest of the pack went off to go on more death contraptions.

"I'm sorry you can't go on anymore roller coasters." I apologized guiltily as we began to walk around the carnival.

"I wasn't kidding I've been on everything here like fifty times, I can go without for once. How do you feel about bumper cars?" My eyes drifted over to the stand he was talking about and I smiled. Bumper cars were my favorite part of carnivals. We got in and I found a purple bumper car, it was my lucky color, and sat down.

"Who ever hits the most cars win!" I shouted to him. The music started and I zoomed around the rink bumping into every car I could, I got every car and just as I went looking for Seth someone slammed into me from the back.

"I win!" The buzzer went off and I whirled around to see Seth smirking behind me.

"This is war." The epic battle of the Bumper cars was well played and I ended up victorious. Seth pretended to sulk but failed as we left the station in search of the next thing to do. It was fun hanging out with Seth and when he looked at him watch and said that it was time to meet up with the others, I tried to hide my disappointment. Nessie was practically glowing with joy, as Jacob carried her on his shoulders.

"I think it's time we brought the sea monster and the lion home." They changed in the woods and Nessie held onto Jacob, while I took Seth, and we ran home. More like raced, halfway back we turned it into a competition and they all raced each other to the house. They skidded to a stop right before the driveway and Leah barked out happily, the way she pranced around the others gave enough indication that she was gloating about having won. They went into the woods to change but when they came back it was only Jacob and Seth. They walked us up the steps the house where Alice, Jasper, Edward, and Bella were waiting for us.

"Hey." Seth greeted enthusiastically, Edward stepped forward and shook his hand with a smile on his face. They all spoke for a bit but the moment I yawned, Alice had me up in her arms and started to walk back into the house.

"Wait." I got out of her arms and ran over to Seth hugging him around his middle extra tightly, he hugged me back and despite wishing I could hug him forever I let go and hugged Jacob before following Alice inside. When I woke up it was to Nessie looking miserable as she sat on the bed beside me.

"What's wrong?" She showed me the wolves leaving as tears began to roll down her eyes. I reached out and hugged her knowing better than anyone that just hugged someone could be enough to make them feel better.

"Sam is having his baby and they all had to go. I never get to see Jake, it's not fair! The baby would still be there in a few days." She pouted while still holding onto me. "They get him all the time but I only get him every other month."

"Why can't you visit them?"

"Because everyone there still expects me to be a two and half year old, they can't see me." I felt horrible for Nessie after meeting Jacob I found out that they were really close to each other and he was like an older brother to her. She told me all about the fun things they used to do when she lived closer to him. There was nothing I could say to make her feel better so I just hugged her close. After a few more moment she sat up and sighed. "Today's the first day of lessons. You should get ready." Her entire demeanor had changed by the time she gave me another hug and bounded out of my room. I got ready then went off to meet Carlisle in his study. We started the first chapter of _To Kill a Mocking Bird,_ and Carlisle assigned for me to read the next two chapters for the next lesson and memorize five vocabulary words. They were hard to remember so I wrote it on a flashcard and decided to use a trick my mother had taught me. I walked over to the art room where Alice was waiting with about ten buckets of paint. She turned and smiled at me the moment I walked in and gave me a hug.

"So what's on our to do list today?"

"You are going to start painting this room." I looked down at the outfit I was wearing, I didn't want to ruin it with paint. Alice handed me a full body jumpsuit.

"Have I ever told you your prescience is really cool?" She smiled and shook her head.

"No but I'm glad you think so and nice use of your vocabulary term." After I got into it and pulled my hair back, I inspected the colors Alice had put out. They were all fairly bright and colorful but I locked on the canary yellow paint and I knew what I wanted to paint.

The hour wasn't nearly as much time as I needed to really get started on my painting but Alice suggested that if I knew what I wanted to paint I should sketch it out so that I would not forget it. I did as she said just as I time was up. "I must vamoose Rosalie is waiting." Two vocab words already, I was on a roll. I skipped down to the garage where Rosalie was waiting by the back table. She had a textbook out and a few diagrams on the wall.

"I cannot wait to hear the didactic things you will tell me today." I stopped for a moment and tried to think if I was using the words right.

"Uh huh, well Carlisle told me that the placement test showed that you were proficient in basic biology so we will go a little above that. We'll start off with cells and work our way up." I nodded as she began her lecture, she assigned my textbook reading also but it would be due the day after next as she switched between teaching me biology and mechanics.

Nessie was already in the kitchen waiting for me when I was done with Rosalie's lesson. I put on my hand on her shoulder and she placed hers on top of mine. _I'm okay._ I nodded and sat down beside her. "How are you liking your lessons so far?" She asked as she sips on a cup of blood. I vaguely remember when I found out what she was drank, vaguely because I was told I passed out cold. It was still weird to think that they were vampires. To me they just seemed like regular people, yes they were all beautiful but they were done to earth and so human.

"I like them all so far but everyone seems so erudite," Vocabulary word three out of five. "I feel like I need to catch up."

"I'm sure they'd slow down if you asked."

"No it's not like that it's just, they all seem like they've seen so much and know so much and I don't. I guess all adults are like that but with them I feel like I'm missing out on something bigger. It's weird, forget it." I shook my head trying to clear the subject in my head, I couldn't verbalize what I wanted to say so I stopped trying.

We finished eating and I went off to learn piano with Edward. He taught me the chords and the notes written out, assigning me a worksheet to complete for the following day. I all but ran out to Emmett who was waiting for me with a soccer ball.

"Are you ready to play some soccer?"

"Shouldn't I change?" "Alice left some sneakers for you by the back door." I ran over and switched shoes. Emmett was obviously slowing his self down as we played but I was still having fun and he seemed to be also. At the end of my lesson with Emmett Jasper was waiting for me again and we walked off into the woods as we had the last time.

"Nahla, do you know about the civil war?" She nodded once she'd settled onto a large rock off to the side. She was relaxed despite the fact that she never felt completely at ease around me.

"It's when the North and the South were fighting each other over slavery and bringing America together." I was satisfied that she knew the war had more facets than simply slavery. It would make the impending conversation that much less complicated than it could be.

"I joined that war when I was sixteen, I fought for the Confederacy so that we could preserve the lifestyle that we had--"

"But why would you fight to keep slaves?" Her confusion came off in waves and I realized although she knew that the war had different aspects, she'd be fixated on my involvement in one in particular. The more troubling of all the facets of the war.

"It's how I was raised it's the only thing I knew. We were all raised to believe they were less than us."

"But why?"

"Because their skin was darker, they came from a land that did not have all the things that we had. We saw them as savages." Tears began to well in her eyes and she looked away from me, off at the distance. Her emotions were changing rapidly and I was unable to pin point which I should begin to address. She spoke before I had a chance to.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way." She mumbled as the tears finally fell from her eyes and rolled down her face. She was fixated on whatever it was she was staring at but tentatively I walked closer to her hoping she'd shift her gaze to me. It worked as she slowly raised her gaze to meet my eyes.

"Felt like that. I do not feel that way anymore. It started after I was turned. My maker, was of Hispanic descent and I watched as she turned and killed and destroyed people regardless of what skin they were in. If they were strong they lived, if they were weak they were killed. Most of them were just killed off their after their first year. I used to think that skin meant everything about a person until I killed humans to feed and I realized they all felt the same paralyzing fear the same emotions, their blood tasted just as rich as any human blood. I used to feel superior I used to hate those below me until I realized there was no such thing when it comes to color. Skin color is just a product of the sun exposure people have had over generations and generations."

"What about everyone else?"

"Carlisle is a scientist and a doctor, he knows better. Esme loves too strongly to ever fall into that type of hate. Edward used to until his transformation and his ability. Bella grew up in too modern a time to believe in such prejudices. Rosalie truly hates only one man but he's gone now, him and people like him are the only ones she allows herself to hate after her turning. Emmett couldn't care less if a person was black, white, yellow or blue. Well actually he may find it particularly intriguing if a person were blue but he wouldn't hate them for it. And Alice...well I think you can figure that one out for yourself." She felt comforted by my words but remained silent for a while longer mulling over everything I just said. While she thought I couldn't help noticing that her eyes were vaguely familiar. The dark hazel, with fleck of green, I attempted to bring forth the memory but came up short.

"If you don't think that way anymore, than why do I bother you so much?" She had returned to staring at a fixed point away from my face. Apprehension was coating her emotions, much like my own. This was more difficult for me to say then telling her of my war and motives. How do you tell a ten year old you stay away so that you don't kill them?

"I know that you've learned of our true nature. That we are vampires." She nodded. "After I was turned I drank from humans up until Alice and I met up with the Cullens. It is sometimes hard for me to maintain the lifestyle that they do." Her brow furrowed for a moment before she finally understood.

"So you stay away to protect me?"

"Yes, although I have grown fond of you however I can not endanger your life but permitting myself to lower my guard in your presence."

"That's silly."

"How so?"

"I can protect myself." A laugh escaped me before I had time to restrain it. Her innocence was yet another trait that made me keep my distance. Her view of the world needed not be sullied anymore than it already had.

"Nahla I am a vampire, should I loose control there would be little to nothing you could do." Her eyes darkened and she slid off of the rock and walked over to me a look a fierce determination flashing in her eyes.

"That won't happen again." She said looking me directly in the eyes. "I won't let a vampire hurt me again." Again?

"When did a vampire ever hurt you?"

"You won't hurt me Jasper. You're not like her." The pain emanating off of her almost brought me to my knees. But she remained completely still and focused. Finally she relaxed, as if she pushed whatever she had been thinking away. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion despite her smile."I trust you."


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five _

What are we gonna do  
Let's try to work things out  
Find out what this is all about  
We can't have any doubt  
What are we gonna do  
Let's try to work things out  
Find out what this is all about  
We can't have any doubt

Cubic U- Work Things Out

We both stood staring at the door for awhile after she'd left. Mouths ajar and eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Alice left. She was gone for an entire weekend. The woman who only let me out of her sight when I needed to pee or she needed to hunt was leaving me for an entire weekend.

"Do you think maybe she's joking?" I asked still staring at the door and hoping she would waltz in any second now, laughing and telling us we should see the stupid expressions on our faces, but she didn't.

"No. She was serious." Jasper answered solemnly. I looked up and recognized the tense stance he was in. His fists balled up by his sides and lips pressed into a thin line. It was always the same whenever he didn't trust himself around me and suddenly I realized what Alice was doing. Slowly I reached for his hand and held onto his fist, knowing there was no use in trying to loosen it as he was a thousand times stronger than I was. We'd never resumed our conversation from that night, and he never forced me to explain. We both knew I wasn't ready to, and the damage had been done. There was no use in telling him when there was nothing he could do.

"We should watch Madagascar." I started speaking although I didn't know where I wanted to take the conversation. I wasn't necessarily uncomfortable near Jasper, he was always nice, but at the same time we'd never really developed a relationship on our own separate from Alice. "I know it's a kid's movie but it's _really_ good. And I mean...wait how old are you?" I'd never thought to ask how old any of them were. Alice looked like a kid but she felt so much older and everyone else looked so big, I just thought of them as grown ups instead of thinking about how old they were. Although Alice had told me she was far older than she appeared she never went into specifics, none of them did.

"Old enough." He replied still staring off at the door.

"How old is old enough?" I asked eagerly trying to divert his attention. He looked down at me with a raised eyebrow, then back at the door.

"A few hundred years." I dropped my hold on his hand.

"_Woah_." He didn't look that old to me. I took his hand again and studied it, although I knew vampires stayed the same forever, after hundreds of years something _had_ to have changed somewhere. "How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"Being a dinosaur!" His eyes widented for a moment and I thought maybe he didn't appreciate being compared to a species that had long since been extinct but his light chuckling proved otherwise.

"I assure you I am not a dinosaur."

"But you're like a kabillion years old! I mean my neighbor Mrs. Shelley didn't come out of her house for _three_ days after she turned thirty and you're like five times that old." He laughed again this time relaxing his whole body and rolled his eyes.

"There is nothing wrong with aging."

"Well you're already old you have nothing to worry about." I sighed for dramatic effect. I didn't notice when he had moved but suddenly I was being attacked by his tickling fingers and I went into a fit of giggles. He chased me around the house keeping at a human pace so that I at least stood a dim chance of out running him, before catching me again and putting me into a fit of giggles. "No more! No more!" I cried and he laughed but stopped tickling me.

"So what would you like to do darlin'?" He asked as he helped me to my feet. I felt so relaxed that I knew some of it was being caused by Jasper, he seemed to have forgotten how uncomfortable I made him that moment so I shrugged my shoulders.

"Let's watch Madagascar and eat popcorn." I suggested, already walking towards the kitchen. I pulled out a bag of popcorn and let it pop in my hand as I went into the living room. Jasper had already put in the movie and was seated on the sofa. I sat down on the other side of it and put up my feet.

"What do I smell like to you?" The question had been on my mind for a while but I wasn't sure how the rest of the family would feel about me asking it. Jasper shifted in his seat and sighed.

"Good."

"Well I'm human, of course I'm going to smell good." I rolled my eyes. "Do I smell like candy? My mom used to tell me I was made from gumdrops when I was little." Jasper chuckled and shook his head.

"No you smell entirely different than what most humans smell to me. You smell…warm. It's probably from all the hyperactivity you have, it's boiling your blood." He joked and I smiled. The room settled into a calm contentment as the movie played and I let myself get lost in it. At some point I must have fallen asleep because I woke up the next morning to the smell of…burning pancakes? I jumped from my bed, attempting to free myself from the clutches of my sheets and run at the same time. Once I was free I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen.

If it were possible to die of laughter I would have come the closest on record to having achieved it. Jasper was standing at the stove in Alice's apron, with powder all over him and a black piece of something in the pan.

"Don't." He warned but I was already on the floor rolling around in laughter.

It took me a few moments but I was finally able to get up and keep a semi straight face instead of cracking up every time I saw the forced irked expression on his face. I removed the burnt whatever (I highly doubt it could be classified as a pancake) from the pan and tossed it out.

"You can stand there and I'll do this." I smiled and patted him on the shoulder before making the pancakes myself. He was watching interestedly from his place near the island as I finished up and swirled whip cream on top of the pancakes.

"Alice will blow a gasket if she sees you consuming that much sugar."

"I almost died, I can have some sugar if I want it."

"You did not almost die."

"Of laughter? Yes I did. You saw me, I was keeled over on the ground and everything!" He snorted, making his way over to the pan and washing everything up. Once I was done and had gone back up to shower and change, we met up in the living room again.

"What would you like to do today?" Jasper asked. We'd been experiencing unusually sunny days in Seattle and I knew the family wasn't allowed out as much since we were so close to Forks, where they had lived before, so I thought up things we could do, other than watch movies, indoors.

"Can you teach me chess? I saw Edward and Alice playing and it looks interesting."

"You thought it was interesting when they played? The majority of the time they're using their gifts to cheat, the game hardly ever goes anywhere." He shook his head as he spoke, leaving at vampire speed and coming back with the chess set. "I'll teach you how to play it based on strategy." I watched him set it all up and took the seat across from him.

"Alright so you have your pawns..." Jasper went into an entire lesson about Pawns, Knights, Bisphops, the Rook, the Queen and the King; how each of them could move across the board and even showed me a demonstration by playing a quick game against himself.

We spent the better half of the morning playing chess, well Jasper was playing chess, I was mimicking all his movements trying to get down the gist of the game. A little while into the game Jasper began to coach aloud, helping me defeat him for the first time and explaining where I could have made better moves and won more quickly. I nodded along absorbing it all and storing it away for later use.

"Alright this is the fourth time your stomach has growled in fifteen minutes. What would you like to eat?" I thought about the easiest foods that I knew how to make and could teach Jasper to make, when he realized what I was up to guffawed. "We're ordering out. Most humans prefer Chinese."

"Can I have vegetable lo mein and sweet and sour chicken?" He nodded and ordered the food for me. It came quickly and I finished it twice as fast. Slurping up the last noodle and giggling at Jasper's shocked expression.

"What's next?" I asked as he took up my take out and threw it out. His phone vibrated and he spoke quickly at vampire speed. Finally he handed me the phone and I realized it was probably Alice checking up on us.

"Hi Alice."

"And they say I'm the psychic." I rolled my eyes and her lame attempt at a joke. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, Jasper taught me how to play chess and I just had Chinese food, we were just talking about what to do next." I walked around with the phone, a habit my mother had passed down to me. "What are you doing?"

"It's a surprise. I'm really happy you're enjoying yourself. I love you and I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." I handed the phone back to Jasper and he spoke ridiculously fast before hanging it up. He was smiling in that way he did whenever he was around Alice. Like he'd been let on to the biggest secret in the world. "How did you meet Alice?" I asked curiously, his smile grew a bit more and his eyes got this far away look.

Their story was beautiful and even without the passion in Jasper's eyes as he recounted it I'm sure I would have still thought so. It was amazing how he had changed everything for her, he decided to better him because he wanted to be better for her and later on for the family he had found in the Cullens. When he finished telling me all about the start of his life with Alice, he filled me in on every member of the family up until Reneesme joined. I couldn't have imagined all that had taken place in their lives although the slight pauses he took told me he was holding out on me I let it go. Adults always tended to do that and he was giving me so much information I didn't spend too long pondering on what he may have left out. By the time he did finish my eyes were drooping and he proclaimed bed time for the human, sending me up to shower and change for bed. After I'd climbed in he came in with a soft knock on the door.

"Good night Nahla."

"Good night. "

This time when I awoke it was to the smell of omelets of the non burnt variety. I slowly padded down to the kitchen but was surprised by Bella standing at the stove instead of Jasper. She smiled at me as she made a plate of omelet and toast for me.

"Morning Nahla."

"Good morning Bella, where's Jasper?" She bit her lip and turned to get something from the fridge.

"He had to go handle a few things." It was an obvious lie, I eyed her suspiciously before settling down at the kitchen table.

"Where's everyone else?"

"They're...handling things as well."

"You mean hunting don't you?" She looked nervous as she set a cup of orange juice in front of me and took the seat across from me. "It's okay Jasper told me that he'd probably have to leave at some point to do it. He wasn't sure how since you were all gone but I guess you're on babysitting duty until he's back?"

"Yeah that's about right." She replied with a small smile. I nodded, digging into my breakfast it was delicious, I'd have to find a subtle way of telling Jasper he should probably get lessons from Bella.

"Where's Nessie?"

"She's spending the day with Edward and the wolves." The wolves were around? I fought the urge to ask if I could go meet up with them, instead thanking Bella as she took up my plate to wash. After I'd finished getting ready for the day Jasper had already returned and we spent the rest of the day just hanging out. I'd already realized Alice's intentions and when I asked Jasper about it he confirmed my theory, apparently she'd drafted all the Cullens into her little plan so the entire house was empty. Of course Alice could only stay away for so long and after five days they had all returned. Alice hugged me so tightly I thought she had forgotten her own strength.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." She moved onto Jasper with whom she shared a moment, I looked away and noticed Reneesme staring at me expectantly. I opened my arms and was assaulted with another crushing hug.

"Jake and the pack told me to say "hi" for them. They took me to a place called First Beach it was really nice and I got to see my Granpa Charlie. I can't wait for you to meet him. He's human like you." I nodded along as she filled me in on everything I'd missed in the past five days. That is until Emmett picked her up and set her aside so that he could "have his turn". His hug wasn't as crushing as I'd expected. He ruffled me hair and handed me a bag with a bow on it. I opened it and pulled out a t-shirt with _"Badass is just another way of pronouncing Cullen" _I chuckled despite the gasps from some of the family members.

"Really Emmett?" Esme chided shaking her head, Emmett just shrugged and winked at me. Apparently Emmett wasn't the only one to get me a gift, Rosalie gave me a journal with a white cover under thin blue lace. Carlisle and Esme gave me a necklace with what they called the Cullen crest hanging on the chain. I'd noticed everyone had something or another with the symbol on it. It was beautiful and I let Esme put it around me neck. It dangled near my locket and my chest constricted. Edward and Bella were next handing me the gift too quickly for me to process my thoughts.It was a teddy bear wearing a blue and white Cowboys jersey. I smiled in spite of the despair that was slowly filling me.

"You're a Cullen now Nahla. This is our way of saying welcome to the team and welcome to the family." Emmett explained, I wasn't sure when my eyes had filled with tears but they started to spill and fall down my cheeks. I wanted to thank them but the tremors started soon after. Alice held me in a suddenly too cold embrace, whispering soothing words to me that I could not hear. All I saw was my mother's face. The look of hurt and betrayal clouding her eyes.

"I'm sorry." I cried clutching onto Alice as my anchor to this world. It felt like I was floating away, away from who I was, away from my mother, away from life.

I woke up screaming. I wasn't sure when I'd fallen asleep but when I jerked forward I was suddenly aware that it was dark and I was in my bedroom all alone. My reaction had probably hurt everyone so badly they couldn't stand to be near me. The thought brought a fresh round of tears to my eyes that I quickly wiped away as I got out of bed. I went into the bathroom and locked the door, I sat on the floor my eyes on my locket. It was still there resting beside the Cullen crest, unopened since the last night I'd spent with my mother. I felt the antique metal carefully with my fingertips, taking in every curve, bend, and indentation. I didn't stop until I memorized it and there was nothing left to do but open it. My hands were shaking but I managed to unclasp the locket.

Her smile was captured beautifully by the picture, her eyes alight with mirth and her lips curled up into a grin. This was how I'd always remember her. This was how she'd forever be by my heart. Always and forever. My eyes drifted to the figure beside her. The man with the sandy blond hair, soft hazel eyes and carefree smile. _His face was contorted with anguish but that was not what kept my attention, it was the crimson eyes that were now staring at me...One moment I felt his fingertips against the side of my face and the next they were gone._ I stared into my father's hazel eyes and tried to imagine him with those crimson eyes, I tried to imagine him as the monster who took my mother away but I couldn't. He loved my mother. No matter how many similarities I drew between my father and the man who came come that night I couldn't see it. There was no way. I stared at the photo for one last time before snapping it shut.

I showered and went into the closet to find something Alice would like. I found a yellow and white sundress and put it on, I put on a matching yellow headband and white sandals. Hopefully my effort would warm her up after how I'd reacted to her and the family last night. The house was eerily silent when I got out of my room. _What if they left? I knew Alice wouldn't have the heart to kick me out, but maybe they all left like Jasper said Edward left Bella._ The fear all but consumed me before I was suddenly enveloped in her familiar ice cold arms.

"Don't leave, please don't leave me. I can't lose another mom." Nahla sobbed as I held her, and I sobbed tearlessly with her. For my little girl who had suffered so much pain, who still suffered and would forever suffer from what happened to her. She calmed herself down enough to gently pulled away and stare into my eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise. This crest means that you are family, we are family and we will never leaver you, you will never lose us." I kissed her forehead and pulled her to me again. The family was waiting just outside the house for my okay. But Nahla beat me to the punch, giving me a squeeze before pulling away.

"I should probably go meet Carlisle for class."

"You don't have to have your classes today." She shook her head.

"I know but I miss them." She was off to find Carlisle as the rest of the family entered into the house. Jasper sought me out, leading me to out bedroom.

"Edward saw something in Nahla's mind before her panic attack." My vision finished off what he had wanted to tell me. Nahla was confusing the man who had taken her mother with her father. We'd investigated her father and mother and found hardly anything on their lives. Her mother, Avery Daniels, had all but appeared out of thin air eleven years ago and lived in small town to small town in Texas during that time. No employment record, medical record, nothing to prove her existence other than town records. There were no records of her father at all, other than his name on Nahla's birth certificate. James Grant Daniels. I'd tried to search for him in my visions and I came up with nothing. For all intents and purposes James Grant Daniels did not exist.

"Alice, in her memories he's a vampire."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know but I believe it's an essential piece to finding out what happened the night her mother was taken."


End file.
